Animals and Empire: Horses in the British India Army, 1790-1890

• In Event: 57. Power, People, and Animals in Asia, Part 1 of 3

Abstract

This paper examines the crucial importance of animals in the British Indian Empire. It explores the significance of animals for the British Indian army, in particular horses for the cavalry and military transport. The East India Company became the paramount political power in South Asia because it had become the paramount military power by the mid-18th century. The paper investigates the ways and means the colonial state utilized to ensure that this military power, based substantially on animals (at least until mechanization in the 20th century), remained supreme in South Asia. This included both the supply of horses and the upkeep of the animals already in use. It leads us into subjects as diverse as horse breeding, import of horses, investments in 'western' veterinary science, the import of British veterinarians into South Asia, among others. Needless to say, military imperatives allowed neither investment nor focus on the requirements of colonial society at large, in particular the health of bovines, arguably the most critical animal resource in South Asia. Colonial power was primarily enforced by military might, and the horse played a crucial part in ensuring and displaying that power.

Author

• Rajit Mazumder, DePaul University